It’s a little thing. But it’s a little thing I’ve been getting wrong, at least to volleyball aficionados. 

In volleyball, a game is called a set. Why it is called a set is beyond me, but that’s what it is. So starting with this week’s volleyball games I am on a quest to change my ways and remove the word game from all volleyball stories and replace it with set.

A set is also, of course, what happens when the setter hits the ball to the hitter, but that is even in the dictionary.

For a couple of years now I have been asking volleyball people why a game is called a set instead of a game. The usual answer is something like, “I don’t know. It just is.”

I know! Sounds like I’m a second grader asking mom or dad why the tree is in the front yard or why the sun is so bright.

And yes, I looked it up on the worldwide web. Most of the time all I could find was something in a definition that started, “A volleyball game or ‘set’...” it did help by second-grade thirst for knowledge.

All I know is that I am a learner. And when I learn things I like to practice them. So from now on it will be set not game. And if any of you ever want to ask me why I started calling them sets instead of games, I’ll tell you, “I don’t know. I just did.”

In my search I did come across a list of quasi-official volleyball terms. Here are a few you might want to add to your vast repertoire when cheering at the next match. There are many, but here are some of the more fun ones.

Campfire defense: This is when the ball falls aimlessly to the floor while the defense stands motionless in a circle, like staring dumbfounded at the campfire.

Coach kill: When a servers hits the ball out or into net immediately after a time-out or substitution (watch, you’ll see a lot of coach kills in a given match).

Husband-and-wife play: A ball drops untouched between two players because they failed to communicate. This will happens repeatedly until one player accepts blame and apologizes.

Jedi defense: This is when a player is caught flat-footed and just sticks out an arm. When it results in a perfect pass, “the force is with her.”

Monument alley: the area between two tall players who can’t play defense.

Fish: A player who gets caught with a net violation. 

Tuna: A player who gets caught with an obvious and flagrant net violation.

Kong: A one-handed block that resembles King Kong swiping at a biplane while hanging off the Empire State Building.

Paint brush: When a player takes a big swing but only brushes the ball; it often results in a floater that results in a kill.

Six-pack: Occurs when a blocker gets hit in the head or face by a spiked ball; it’s also known as a “facial” or “Tachikara tattoo;” if the player has to come out of the game, it’s call a “facial disgracial.”

There you go. Take some of these with you to the next match and have some fun. And remember, it is a set, not a game.